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Troubleshooting “Stop 0x0000007B” Error

When you start your computer, you may receive one of the following error messages:

You may also receive a “Stop 0x0000007B” error message during Windows XP Setup when the Setup program restarts during the installation process. When you receive a Stop error while the Setup program is running, you receive the second error message.

This error is usually caused after your computer is infected with a boot sector virus. If you can boot into Windows, use an antivirus program such as AVG or NOD32 to scan for and remove any viruses. If you cannot boot into Windows, or if you have already scanned for and removed all viruses, boot into the Windows XP recovery console [1]. Once in the recovery console, run the command “fixboot” and then “fixmbr”. Finally, run “chkdsk /R /F” and let check-disk complete. This will hopefully allow you to boot back into Windows XP without receiving the stop error. You should run a complete virus scan again to confirm the virus was removed.

If the above steps do not work, you may have to reformat your drive and reinstall Windows XP. Obviously, any data on the drive will be lost, so a complete format and reinstall should be your last ditch effort.